E. Asia, Latin America edge toward closer ties
E. Asia, Latin America edge toward closer ties
SINGAPORE (AFP): Countries from East Asia and Latin America edged closer towards establishing better ties after talks ended on Friday with both sides agreeing on cultural and economic exchanges.
At the end of the three-day meeting, senior officials from the 27 states also agreed to hold a foreign ministers' meeting in 2001.
"Many countries had very interesting suggestions in the areas of cooperation and projects that will give concrete substance to this forum," Bilahari Kausikan, head of Singapore's delegation told reporters.
The officials "have agreed to work towards a foreign ministers' meeting in Santiago, Chile, in the first quarter of 2001," he added, and to hold another senior officials' meeting next year.
The talks were held here one year after Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong launched the idea for the "East Asia-Latin America Forum" in Chile aimed at acting as a bridge between the regions separated by the Pacific Ocean.
Goh then said the two regions needed to more about each other, not just in the field of economics but also in culture, the arts and the environment.
During the meeting, several countries made proposals to exchange of views on the World Trade Organization (WTO) issues, form a data bank on the Forum's members, and establish business development councils.
There were also proposals to exchange academics, journalists and diplomats between the two regions.
"A few countries stated they would be proposing projects in the course of the coming months," Kausikan said, adding that Singapore had put three projects on the table such as an economic study to be coordinated by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and a travel trade fair.
The economic study would focus on finding out what the obstacles are for improving trade between the two regions.
In 1997, only 2.6 percent of Asia's exports went to Latin America, and 4.3 percent of Latin American exports went to Asia, and if Japan were excluded, this figure would fall to one percent.
In the last two decades, the relative participation of Latin American exports in the Asian market increased by a minuscule 0.5 percent.
Singapore also proposed having Latin American states take part in a travel fair, already scheduled to be held here next year, to help them sell their countries as tourist destinations.
"I think this is important because it is a multi-dimensional project in a way. There is an obvious economic dimension because there will be business spinoffs, but there is also a cultural dimension," Kausikan said.
"And equally important there will be an exchange of people to people," he added.
The countries attending the meeting from Asia are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
From Latin America, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, will be represented.